Beginning teacher incentives and support

Financial incentives for beginning teachers

The following information provides an overview of the current range of financial incentives available to beginning teachers in Queensland state schools, in addition to a generous starting salary of $84,078 (as at 1 July 2024).

• Beginning Teacher Support payment—up to $20,000 (over 4 years) for beginning teachers commencing employment in state schools across our Far North Queensland, North Queensland, Darling Downs South West and Central Queensland regions, between 2023 and the end of 2025.
• Beginning Teacher payment—beginning teachers appointed to TR4–7 locations are eligible to receive a one-off payment of $1,000 (TR4 and TR5), $1,500 (TR6) and $2,000 (TR7). Information about eligible schools is available in our choose your teaching adventure booklet.
• Regional Attraction and Retention payment—payment of $900 to state school teachers working in eligible high priority regional locations in Queensland in 2024 and 2025. Information about eligible schools is available on incentives for teachers in regional communities page.
• Regional Recognition of Service payment—$1,200 for state school teachers who remain in eligible high priority regional locations for the 2024 and 2025 school year. Information about eligible schools is available on incentives for teachers in regional communities page.
• Recognition of Rural and Remote Service—temporary and permanent beginning teachers completing their first year of teaching in rural or remote locations (TR4–7) are eligible for an annual payment of up to $3,000, depending on location. Additional annual payments for subsequent years in these locations are also available. Please see more information on our choose your teaching adventure booklet.
• Locality allowances—allowance paid to teachers in living in rural and remote locations to assist with general expenses. Allowances up to $4,596 for single teachers and $9,193 for families per year, depending on location. Please refer to the locality allowances directive for specific information about allowances.
• Teacher registration fees—reimbursement of teacher registration application fees paid to the Queensland College of Teachers.

Eligibility for financial incentives are dependent on school location, transfer rating (TR) and individual circumstances. Information about available incentives will be discussed with you during the recruitment process.

Housing, relocation and travel benefits

• Rural and Remote Housing Incentive Scheme—beginning teachers commencing employment in an eligible school location between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025, may be eligible for 12 months of rent assistance and accommodation support. The list of eligible schools is available on the rural and remote housing incentive scheme page.
• Teacher housing—teacher housing is available in many of our rural and remote communities across Queensland, at a significantly reduced rental fee. Access to housing is dependent on location, personal circumstances and availability.
• Concierge service—relocation and settlement support for beginning teachers relocating to commence employment in a priority location and eligible school. The list of eligible schools is available on the rural and remote housing incentive scheme page.
• Transfer and relocation expenses—the department provides assistance with organising the relocation of personal items including furniture, and covers reasonable costs associated with relocation and travel to a new school community.
• Recognition of location travel allowance—teachers and their family members in rural and remote communities (TR5-7) are eligible for $3,000 per person, each year to assist with the costs of travel to and from the community. Information about eligible schools is available in our choose your teaching adventure booklet.

Other incentives and benefits for teachers in rural and remote communities

Teachers and their families living and working in rural and remote communities across Queensland also have access to a range of benefits and incentives under the Recognition of Rural and Remote Service Scheme. These are location dependent and eligible schools are detailed in our choose your teaching adventure booklet.

Additional incentives and benefits can include:

• identified location allowance up to $1,000 per year
• access to additional subsidised flights annually
• additional week of summer holidays each year
• access to discretionary leave days during the school year
• accelerated accrual of transfer points and prioritised consideration of transfer requests
• eligibility for Australian Government Reduction of Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debts for teachers in very remote areas.

An overview of the incentives that you may be eligible for in specific schools or locations and based on your personal circumstances, can be accessed via our online Recognition of Rural and Remote Service Scheme calculator.

Other personal and professional benefits for all teachers

All Queensland state school teachers have access to a range of benefits including:

• provision of a laptop, through the Computers for Teachers (CFT) program to support teaching, learning and communication
  
• generous leave entitlements including 12 weeks of school holidays, parental, reproductive health and long service leave
• employer superannuation contribution of 12.75%
• career advancement and school, region and state-wide professional development opportunities
• access to wellbeing programs and support through the confidential Employee Assistance Program
• fitness passport membership, providing discounted access to a range of fitness facilities across Queensland.

We encourage all beginning teachers to seek financial advice about the financial incentives and benefits you may be eligible, and how these may impact on your personal situation. Please note that some benefits may be subject to fringe benefit tax (FBT) and may result in a reportable fringe benefit amount (RFBA) which is reported on employees’ annual income statement.